Toothbrush



Sept. 25,1923. 1,488,888

A. A. S. STUART TOOTHBRUSH Filed Sept. '7. 1922' IN VEN TOR Alexander A S,

ATTORNEYS.

. Patented Sept. 25, 1923..

matte g PATNT @EFFQE.

ALEXANDER A. S. STUART, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

TOOTHBRUSH.

Application filed September 7, 1922. Serial No. 586,675.

To all whom it may comm:

Be it known that I, Amaxarmnn A. S. STUART, a citizen of the'United States, and resident of the city of New Orleans, par sh of Orleans, and State of Louisiana, have 1nvented certain new and useful Improvements in Toothbrushes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in brushes, and more particularly to tooth brushes.

The invention has for one of its principal objects the provision of a tooth brush so constructed that the bristles, and the surface of the brush back to which the bristle tufts are secured, may be easily and thoroughly cleaned.

A further object of the invention is to provide a brush in which the individual bristles of one tuft are interlocked with the bristles of an adjacent tuft or tufts throughout a considerable portion of their length, whereby the bristles mutually brace each other.

A further important object of the invention is the rovision of a brush havin oppositely inc ined series of tufts of bristles.

the outer ends of the bristles in one series of tufts being interlocked with the outer ends of the bristles of an oppositely inclined series of tufts to form a rubbing or Wearing surface of compactly arranged interlocked bristle ends.

Another important object is to provide a brush back having an opening extending therethrough and bristle-holding portions having surfaces ipclined toward said openmg, whereby foreign matter accumulated in the bristles and on the surface of the back to which the bristles are secured may be readily and completely removed by flushing the bristles and said inclined surfaces; k

In the accompanying drawings showing the preferred embodiment of the invention,

Figure 1 is a plan view of the tooth brush;

Flg. 2 a vertical transverse sectional view taken through the brush body; and

Fig. 3 is a detail side elevation, partly in vertical section.

The brush comprises a back 1 formed of any suitable material, a handle 2 which may be of any suitable construction, and a plurality of series or rows of bristle tufts 3, 4, 5, and 6. The brush back is provided with an elongated substantially rectangular opening 7 extending longitudinally of the back and substantially centrally thereof. The

. bristle ends.

surfaces or portions 8, 9. l0 and 11 incline inwardly and downwardly toward the central opening 7 in the brush back.

The tufts of bristles may be held to the I back at their inner ends in any suitable manner. The tufts of bristles extend substan tially at right angles to the inclined surfaces of the back and the bristles of the tufts 3 on the inclined side portion 8 are interlocked with the bristles of the tufts 4 on the inclined side portion 9 for a considerable portion of their length, as shown more clearly in Fig. 2. The bristles of the tufts 5 and 6 extend between and are interlocked with the bristles of adjacent tufts 3 and 4 carried by the side portions 8 and 9.

The outer ends of the bristles are preferably trimmed to form a fiat rubbing surface 12 audit will be seen that this rubbing surface is formed of very compactly arranged It will also be observed that the bristles are arranged at different angles and mutually support or brace each other throughout a considerable portion of their length adjacent their outer ends. thus form ing a very effective rubbing surface and ma terially increasing the durability of the brush.

It will be observed also that in t-heform of my device illustrated, which is the preferred form, the row or rows of bristles at each side of the center of the brush extend across the longitudinal center of the brush back, practically all the bristles on one side of the brush interlocking with and crossing tend to the brushing surface. It will be ob served also that the inner bristles, i. e., the bristles nearest to the longitudinal center of the brush-back extend over to the opposite edge of the brushing surface, so as to thereby cross all the bristles at the opposite side of the center, whereby uniformity in stiffness of the brushing surface is assured and all the bristles are rendered mutually supporting- The bristles and the bristle carrying sur face of the brush back may be readily cleaned by flushing the bristles and inclined surfaces of the back. Foreign substances which have accumulated in the bristles and on the inclined surfaces of the back may thus be easily removed and will readily flow with the water down the inclined surface and through theopening 7. The bristles may be further cleaned by inverting the brush and flushing the bristles through the opening 7.

The inclined surfaces form a trough and in the act of cleansing the brush a jet of water entering the trough will splash upon the inclined surfaces and swirl about the roots of the bristle tufts to thoroughly cleanse them before draining out through the longitudinal opening. The arrangement of the bristle tufts to diverge away from the brushing surfaces toward the brush back causes the roots of the tufts to be widely spaced and further facilitates their cleans- 11'1 another advantage in the combination of the inclined surfaces with the longitudinalopening is that it tends to prevent the accumulation of dirt at the roots of the bristle tufts, owing to the fact that the user of the brush bends forwardly in the act of brushing his teeth so that the back of the brush is disposed substantially horizontal. The fluid from the mouth of the user which reaches the brush back therefore, flows down the inclined surfaces and drains out through the longitudinal opening.

What I claim is:

1. A tooth brush comprising a back having a substantially rectangular central opening therethrough and formed of inwardlyinclined portions extending along the opposites sides of said opening and inwardly intufts of bristles held to each of said inclined portions and extending substantially at right angles thereto, the ends of the bristles of one set intermingling with and crossing the bristles of the other set substantially at right angles to each other so as to mutually support each other throughout a substantial portion of their length, all of the bristles being extended to the brushing surface to thereby produce a compact brushing surface which will be of uniform stiffness throughout its area.

3. A tooth brush comprising a back and two sets of bristle-tufts, one set extending along one side of the longitudinal center of the back and the other set extending along the other side of the longitudinal center, the two sets inclining toward each other and crossing each other at the longitudinal center of the back. the ends of the bristles of one set intermingling with and crossing the bristles of the other set substantially at right angles to each other so as to mutually support each other throughout a substantial portion of their length, all the bristles being extended to the brushing surface to thereby produce a compact brushing surface which will be of uniform stiffness throughout its area.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

ALEXANDER A. S. STUART. 

